Kevin Keatts took over a team clearly in need of point guard help, and the new UNCW men’s basketball coach has found another option.

Jordon Talley, a Richmond native taking a prep year at Fishburne Military School, has committed to the Seahawks for next season, he confirmed Thursday. The 6-foot, 180-pound point guard is the first recruit to pledge to the new UNCW staff.

Talley averaged 12.3 points and a team-best 4.2 assists per game in his senior year at Henrico High School and helped the Warriors claim the 2013 VHSL Group AAA state title. He earned the test scores to qualify late last spring and had Division I offers on the table when he decided to stick with his prep school plan.

This season, he served as floor general for a squad littered with high-major talent that went 25-7, ending with a quarterfinal loss at the national prep school championships. He led Ed Huckaby Jr.’s team in minutes played and served as a captain.

“He’s a winner,” Huckaby said in a phone interview. “That’s a stat that Kevin Keatts understands. A lot of times the general public wants to look at points per game or assists or field goal percentage, but (wins are) a stat that can’t be undervalued.”

Talley’s list of offers included Towson, Texas State, Campbell and Longwood, he said. College of Charleston and Marshall had also expressed interest in bringing him to campus. His only previous official visit was to Bowling Green before their coaching change.

Talley didn’t waste time making up his mind about UNCW. He arrived in town with his parents on Wednesday evening. After dinner and some time hanging out with host Cedrick Williams, he sent Keatts a text message telling the coach to expect good news in the morning.

“Basically I was just waiting until I felt comfortable,” Talley said. “Right away, I just loved it down here. … They made me feel like I was part of the team already.”

Huckaby originally recruited Talley to the Waynesboro (Va.) prep school on the advice of former Virginia star Cory Alexander, who has trained the point guard. He said Talley delivered as expected for a team always loaded with talent and expectations. The player produced several 30-point games this season but also picked spots to facilitate for his teammates.

Huckaby got advice from Keatts, then at Hargrave Military Academy, when he was launching the post-grad team at Fishburne five years ago, and the coaches remain close. He feels like Talley fits the mold the new UNCW coach favors.

“You’re not recruiting a point guard to lead you in scoring,” Huckaby said. “He’s got to lead you in leading the team. That equals into wins. He fits what Kevin Keatts wants.”

In high school, Talley was used to having the ball in his hand but he considered himself a combo guard before this season. He’s proud of how his decision-making has improved with the move to full-time point guard. Next week he plans to make it official and sign with the Seahawks, a team that doesn’t return a true point guard.

Talley will need to beat out the other 2014 recruit Malik Pugh, a high school point guard from Tennessee, for his minutes. The chance to carve out a major role right away was, understandably, a major draw, he said.

“I already knew I was ready to play,” Talley said. “With the right coach, I’m already ready to play on this level.”

Keatts has one more scholarship available for next season, though he could opt to leave it open if he doesn’t find what he’s looking for as the recruiting cycle winds down. There are plenty of unsigned recruits and transfers looking for homes, but the coach has said he wants to make sure any late additions fit into his long-term plans.

About This Blog

Hey there, I’m StarNews staff writer Eric Detweiler, and I handle the UNCW beat. I’m a Pennyslvania native who went to the University of Maryland and came to Wilmington in August 2013 after stops in Denver and Washington, D.C. Feel free to reach out with questions or comments about our coverage of the Seahawks. Thanks for reading.